Among the possible pairings between two art forms that express themselves in different sign systems (verbal pictorial sonic kinetic etc.) the relationship between words and images is the one that is most widely explored. And in fact the most securely established terminology is found in a field that has experienced a significant revival in recent years: ekphrasis. The literary topos through which a poem (or any other text) addresses itself to the visual arts has received much attention in recent years and been subjected to intense scrutiny.

Siglind Bruhn:

A musicologist, concert pianist, and interdisciplinary scholar whose research focuses on compositions of the 20th century. Prior to coming to the United States, she taught for ten years in Germany and at the University of Hong Kong. Since 1993 she has been a full-time researcher at the University of Michigan’s Institute for the Humanities (one of six “Life Research Associates”); in the fall of 2004, she was appointed chercheur permanent at the Institut d’Esthétique des Arts Contemporains at Université de Paris 1–La Sorbonne. She has been an elected member of the European Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2001.